Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It

apply their mental energy to solving your problems.
In Chapter 8 I demonstrate how to employ these
Calibrated Questions to guard against failures in the
implementation phase. “Yes,” as I always say, is nothing
without “How?” You’ll also discover the importance of
nonverbal communication; how to use “How” questions to
gently say “No”; how to get your counterparts to bid against
themselves; and how to influence the deal killers when
they’re not at the table.
At a certain point, every negotiation gets down to the
brass tacks: that is, to old-school haggling. Chapter 9 offers
a step-by-step process for effective bargaining, from how to
prepare to how to dodge an aggressive counterpart and how
to go on the offensive. You’ll learn the Ackerman system,
the most effective process the FBI has for setting and
making offers.
Finally, Chapter 10 explains how to find and use those
most rare of negotiation animals: the Black Swan. In every
negotiation there are between three and five pieces of
information that, were they to be uncovered, would change
everything. The concept is an absolute game-changer; so
much so, I’ve named my company The Black Swan Group.
In this chapter, you’ll learn how to recognize the markers
that show the Black Swan’s hidden nest, as well as simple
tools for employing Black Swans to gain leverage over your
counterpart and achieve truly amazing deals.
Each chapter will start with a fast-paced story of a
hostage negotiation, which will then be dissected with an